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reinforcements in a way that are both systematic and random. Systematic, because you steadily increase the time or repetitions between reinforcements. Random, because you increase that interval between reinforcements in such a way as your dog cannot predict when the reinforcement is coming. For example, let’s say your dog can walk for five steps with you. You take five steps as an average (mean), and work around it, sometimes reinforcing two steps, sometimes three, sometimes seven, and so forth. Once your dog is doing that very well, you can move on to a mean of seven steps, then a mean of ten steps, and so on. Your dog is learning to do the behavior for longer and longer periods of time, but it does not feel that way to him. He maintains interest, yet still winds up giving your more and more of the behavior between treats. You can use this system to teach behaviors like stay, as well. Instead of steps, you would measure seconds

Why do the reinforcements have to be random? Why can’t you just reinforce every three steps, then four, then five and so forth? If your dog knows that he gets a treat every seven steps, he will lag, sniff, or pull for the first six steps, and then present himself for the treat at the seventh step. Also, if you are always making it harder in a predictable fashion—today you do two steps for a treat, tomorrow three steps, and the day after four steps—your dog will figure it out very quickly. He will perform the behavior right around the time you are going to reinforce him and ignore you for the rest of the time.

It is difficult to think up a variable reinforcement schedule on the fly, so I have given you some samples, below. You can use the exact schedules, or make up your own variations. I recommend that you make little crib sheets with the reinforcement schedule you plan to use that day and carry it with you during your training session. No matter how hard we try, we humans tend to be very predictable in our reinforcement patterns, and randomness is the key in this process. Although these schedules talk about steps, they are equally applicable to seconds, as in seconds of a stay. Thanks to Morgan Spector for allowing me to reprint these from his book, Clicker Training For Obedience. Sunshine Books, 1998.

Example for dog walking with you:

Level 1 (mean = 5 steps): 5 steps, 2, 6, 3, 7, 3, 5, 1, 7, 4, 3, 5, 1 (52 steps total)

Level 2 (7 steps): 7 steps, 3, 10, 5, 8, 4, 7, 2, 5, 10, 3, 7, 2 (73 steps)

Level 3 (10 steps): 10 steps, 5, 8, 4, 12, 6, 10, 3, 7, 10, 5, 12, 1, 10, 3 (106 steps)

Level 4 (12 steps): 12, 6, 10, 4, 15, 7, 12, 6, 15, 8, 12, 2, 10, 4 (123 steps)

Level 5 (15 steps): 15, 7, 12, 8, 13, 6, 20, 2, 10, 7, 15, 9, 20, 12, 8, 15, 7, 3 (189 steps)

Level 6 (20 steps): 20, 10, 12, 8, 15, 9, 17, 10, 25, 15, 3, 20, 10, 25, 13, 5 (217 steps)

Level 7 (25 steps): 15, 25, 12, 20, 5, 15, 25, 2, 18, 30, 12, 25, 15, 20, 25, 12, 3 (279 steps)

Level 8 (30 steps): 25, 30, 15, 20, 10, 17, 35, 5, 25, 30, 15, 20, 35, 17, 30, 15, 5 (349 steps)

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Pam Dennison for being my best in-person training buddy and obedience coach, for getting me started with positive training, and for believing that my dogs were no different than other dogs and could perform just as well as Golden Retrievers. I am not sure that a couple of my dogs would even be alive, never mind winning blue ribbons in agility and obedience, if it were not for Pam. Most of all, thank you, Pam, for encouraging me and showing me how to have confidence in one’s abilities and reach for the brass ring. Thank you also to Pam’s dog, Beau, who, although he is a Border Collie, was so challenging to train that he earned an honorary position in the Pigs Fly hall of fame.

Thanks to Terri Bright for being my constant virtual training buddy. I can honestly say that Terri helped me develop, think about, and refine every single concept in this book. It is so rare to find a friend who matches one’s enthusiasm (OK, obsession) for a topic, and is a great human being to boot—I am very lucky to have Terri as a friend. Thanks also